My Finger

Sorry it's been awhile but I had an accident and really busted up my finger. It has been too hard to type. It still is but getting a bit easier. How did this happen you ask? Well, Scott and I were moving a piece of furniture out of the van and a hinged door flew open and smashed my finger to a pulp. Kind of like what a grape looks like once you step on it. The fingernail came off, the tip of the bone split and came through the skin and my finger looked like a boiled hot dog once it has been split open. This happened a week ago and the surgeon said the finger would be completely healed in about 6 months. I see him again tomorrow. The pictures were taken a few minutes ago as I was changing the bandage.

Bear Beach is now over and we had a successful run. The author of the show says he wants to put out an original cast recording. Sounds like a lot of fun and I can't wait. Although most of the audience members couldn't figure out what the show was about, exactly, they loved the music. They got a kick out of me in a jockstrap and boots too. There was some really good talent in the show and you'll be able to see the rehearsal process on LOGO TV soon. Not sure of the date yet.

Scott and I just did a video tape of me to submit to host a show on cable TV. We are calling it "The Green Mover". Once he edits it, I will send it to the talent agency.

Scott had another scare when he found a lump in his chest area. The doctor said it was nothing to worry about and the tests came back negative. I don't think either of us could handle another round of cancer so quickly after the first one. As of now, all is well with him. He just needs to get his energy level back to normal. He still tires easily.

My Life: So me an my lover made it back from Florida and rang my Mother's doorbell. When she answered the door I said "Hi" and told her that we were passing through and that Paul was my boyfriend. She invited both of us in with a smile and asked me to join her in her bedroom area. Once there, she asked "Are you the man or the woman?" I told her I was a man and she sighed a relief. She never really had any issues with the whole "Gay" thing. The rest of the family was told and no one said a whole lot about it. They all just accepted me for who I am. The men never did and never will talk about it but the women embraced the whole idea. Even my grandmother.

On the back patio y Grandmother looked at me and pointed to her husband and said "Doesn't he have nice legs?" She married him when she was in her 60's. She had been a single woman up until then. Yes, my mother was born out of wedlock. I think I already covered all this.

So, Paul and I stayed a couple of days. Paul still lived with his mother in DC and we had to get back there. My family helped us with tickets and we were gone. Once in DC, I moved in with him and his mother. She was not happy about it and hated me. I didn't care because I was in love. LOL

Now, I had to find a job. My first job in the area lasted a couple of weeks. I worked for Time Life Libraries as a bill collector (over the phone). That's why it didn't last too long, I hated it! I had to find another job. 14th street NW back then was full of adult bookstores, movie house and prostitutes. I though it would be easy to get a job in the industry and I was right. I became a film man at Adam and Eve movie house. I sat in the projector booth and changed, spliced and ran he movies. You could see in the audience the men who came in and see them ... well you know. Across the hall from the theater was Le Salon - a gay bookstore and movie house. Once I had enough experience I applied there and got a job. The store sold marijuana accessories, magazines, sex toys and many other items. It also had a movie theater in the back with a dark room area for the men to play. Total decadence.

I learned everything a person needed and didn't need to know about sex. I learned all about the gay culture from bears to fems to twinks to tops and bottoms. S&M, B&D, color coding of handkerchiefs and what they all meant. The meaning of earrings, keys, and gestures. Gaydar, butch guys, sugar daddies, and even diaper dudes. The gay world so so much different back then. We were trying to find ourselves and trying to be free. Gay people came out in droves and I feel it was the beginning of the gay movement. A lot of what we did was wrong but we didn't have role models. We messed up a lot but someone had to do it. It took a while for gay men to clean up their act.

I had also learned how to skim the box office while I worked there. I made a small fortune. Paul hated that i worked there and began to go to the bars without me. So, I did the same. We lasted 3 month. He walked into the Eagle bar and saw me kissing a man wearing all leather. He stormed out of the bar and it was over for us. I was devastated and relieved at the same time. That night I had no home...

That's all for right now. My finger is throbbing.

Love & Peace,

Clayton